Not many people go on holiday to Hanger Lane, the traffic-choked artery in West London. Many pass through on their way to holidays. But few, I feel sure, have ever actually gone on a Hanger Lane holiday.

In the spirit of adventure, I decided to buck the trend and earlier this month booked in to a new “chic hip hotel of sumptuous quality” (so said the website) at number 55, just around the corner from North Ealing Underground station.

Hotel 55 was opened last year by Sanjay Tohani, a local entrepreneur in his mid-thirties who decided it was time to bring Hanger Lane, best known for its gyratory system, to the attention of world travellers.

The hotel doesn’t look much: a whitewashed 1930s pile with a car-park front garden close to the Greystoke pub, a beauty boutique, and the North Ealing Supermarket: “Polish foods served”. But inside there is a cool minimalist style to the reception, which leads to a slick lounge with velvet seats, spotlights and splashes of modern art by “India’s answer to Jackson Pollock”, an artist named Sudhir Deshpande.

Laura, the Spanish receptionist, disappointingly explains that the hotel restaurant is closed since “the menu is being changed”. She gives me a plastic key to room 202; there are 16 rooms in all.

Up twisting staircases and past more Indian Pollock, I find my room, which has a feng shui feel. There is a lime-green chair, chocolate-coloured bed cover, a large mirror, and a tiny shower room that is so small I almost step into the loo when I enter.

For £72 for a double, with continental breakfast included, it isn’t bad at all. OK, the view is of a Hanger Lane traffic jam. But the sound insulation is good (though in the morning I did notice a rumble of lorries). Laura had given me a voucher for a complimentary drink. So I order a beer, watch the CNN news on a big flat-screen in the lounge, and pop around the corner for a pizza at a nice Italian restaurant called Villa Toscana.

Hotel 55, which was once a brothel and, later, a DHSS hostel, is primarily a business hotel. But it hopes to attract leisure visitors, maybe those going to watch games at Wembley (15 minutes away) or flying from Heathrow (20 minutes, if you’re lucky) or even seeing a show in the West End (half an hour on the Piccadilly Line).

“Ealing with feeling” is how it likes to be known. Perhaps, but I don’t think Park Lane has to worry too much about Hanger Lane just yet.

Bottom line: Doubles start at £55. Tom Chesshyre paid £72, with continental breakfast.

Sampling the fare: A “delivery service menu” is planned, offering Japanese, Indian and Thai food.

What we think: Stylish.

Best thing: The lounge.

Worst thing: The traffic.

Access all areas: No.

Need to know: Hotel 55 (020-8991 4450, www.hotel55-london.com), 55 Hanger Lane, London W5 3HL.

Room: 6 out of 10.

Food: No food when I went.

Service: 7 out of 10.

Value: 9.5 out of 10.

Have you stayed at Hotel 55? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Use the comment form at the bottom of the page to tell us what you thought

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